Nvidia Chief Flags Dangers To US Chips Act, Disney, Shell, Gucci Allegedly Used Worthless Carbon Credits, Microsoft's Daring Attempt to Outshine Google In Search Game: Today's Top Stories

Benzinga

Disney, Shell, Gucci Allegedly Used Worthless Carbon Credits As Top Certifier's CEO Resigns

• David Antonioli, the CEO of Verra, a Washington-based non-profit, the world's largest carbon credit certifier, has resigned following allegations that the organization approved millions of worthless offsets used by major companies, impacting the climate.
• The forest carbon offsets endorsed by Verra and utilized by major organizations such as The Walt Disney Co DIS, Shell PLC SHEL, and high-end luxury fashion brand Gucci are largely worthless and could potentially worsen global warming revealed a joint investigation by the Guardian, the German weekly Die Zeit and the investigative group SourceMaterial earlier this year.

Why Kohl's Shares Are Jumping Today

• Kohl's Corp KSS reported a first-quarter FY23 sales decline of 4% year-on-year to $3.57 billion, beating the consensus of $3.34 billion. Q1 comparable sales decreased 4.3% versus last year.
• "While there is still work to be done and the macroeconomic environment remains challenging, we are affirming our 2023 guidance and continue to have conviction in Kohl's longer-term opportunity," said CEO Tom Kingsbury.
• Kohl's sees FY23 net sales to decline 2% - 4%. It expects FY23 EPS, excluding any non-recurring charges, of $2.10 - $2.70 versus the Street view of $2.32.

XPeng Stock Drops After Q1 Earnings and Cautious Outlook: The Details

• XPeng Inc XPEV reported a first-quarter FY23 sales decline of 45.9% year-on-year, to RMB4.03 billion ($587.31 million), missing the consensus of $741.07 million.
• The quarterly vehicle deliveries decreased 17.9% Y/Y to 18,230. 
•  XPeng sees Q2 vehicle deliveries of 21,000 – 22,000, down 36.1% - 39.0% Y/Y.

Lenovo Revenues Plunge 24% In Q4 Amid Demand Sluggishness In PC Market

• Lenovo Group Ltd LNVGY reported a fourth-quarter revenue dip of 24% year-on-year to $12.6 billion.
• Given pressures from the PC market and the global economy, 4Q marked Lenovo's "most challenging quarter" of the year.
• Outlook: The Group expects the entire PC and smart devices market to resume year-to-year growth in the second half of 2023.

Google-Backed AI Startup Anthropic Secures $450M In Series C Funding

• Artificial intelligence startup Anthropic has raised $450 million in Series C funding led by Spark Capital with participation from Alphabet Inc GOOG GOOGL, Salesforce Ventures, Sound Ventures, Zoom Ventures, and others.
• With this series C funding, the company hopes to expand its product line, assist companies that will responsibly deploy Claude, and advance the field of AI safety research. 
• Claude is an AI assistant that can perform various conversational and text-processing tasks.

Google Plus Uber: Waymo's Driver Joins Uber for a Phoenix Test Run

• Uber Technologies Inc UBER stock is up Tuesday after a new, multi-year pact with Google parent Alphabet Inc's GOOG GOOGL self-driving startup Waymo to make the Waymo Driver available to more people via the Uber platform starting in Phoenix.
• This integration will launch publicly later this year with a set number of Waymo vehicles across Waymo's newly expanded operating territory in Phoenix, including local deliveries and ride-hailing trips.
• Uber users will be able to experience the safety and delight of the Waymo Driver on both the Uber and Uber Eats apps.

Financial Times

'There Is Only One China': Nvidia Chief Flags Dangers To US Chips Act, Repercussions Of US Tech Embargo On China

• Nvidia Corp NVDA chief Jensen Huang warned against immense damage to U.S. tech from its semiconductor chip embargo with China.
• Huang described how the sanctions have handicapped chipmakers like Nvidia from selling its advanced chips in one of the company's biggest and most important markets.
• He also emphasized how Chinese companies built their chips to rival Nvidia's market-leading gaming, graphics, and artificial intelligence processors.

Bloomberg

Ride into the Future: Uber to Roll Out Electric Vehicles in India Amid Clean-Energy Drive

• Uber Technologies Inc UBER eyes the launch of 25,000 electric vehicles in India to tap the country's clean-energy drive to expand its local presence.
• The ride-hailing firm collaborated with local fleet operators like Lithium Urban Technologies Pvt, Everest Fleet Pvt, and Nigeria-based Moove Ltd. to get EVs on the country's roads.
• Prabhjeet Singh, president of Uber's India operations, said Uber would launch EV Uber Green in June in Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Delhi.

Meta Loses Another EU Lawsuit Shortly After Hefty Penalty For Data Privacy Breach

• Meta Platforms Inc META tasted defeat in a lawsuit with European Union regulators who ordered vast amounts of data to help build an antitrust case against the Facebook parent.
• "The EU General Court, the bloc's second-highest court, ruled that Meta had failed to prove that the request "went beyond what was necessary,"
• The case dates back three years to when the European Commission started examining Meta's sales platform and how it uses app data.

Reuters

Safety Over Sales: Target Pulls Products from Pride Collection After Customer Threats and Confrontations

• Target Corp TGT has decided to remove some products from its Pride Collection after facing customer backlash.
• The retailer has decided to pull some products from its stores to ensure the safety of its employees.
• Target's Pride Collection has 2,000 products, including clothing, books, music, and home furnishings.

Alibaba Liable To Pay Over $7M Penalty To NetEase Under Gaming Lawsuit

• Alibaba Group Holding Limited BABA unit behind the development of the hit mobile game "Three Kingdoms Tactics" is liable to pay a penalty of 50 million yuan ($7.2 million) to NetEase Inc NTES for copyright infringement under a court ruling.
• Ejoy, the Alibaba subsidiary, proposed to appeal the decision of the Guangzhou court and that the game will continue to operate.
• The court ordered Ejoy to delete 79 items for infringing on the copyrights of Shuai Tu Zhi Bin, another popular strategy game developed by NetEase.

Bing vs. Google: Microsoft's Daring Attempt to Outshine Google in the Search Game

• Microsoft Corp MSFT started making available to users a host of AI upgrades, including ChatGPT, its search engine Bing and to cloud services as it strives to narrow the gap with Alphabet Inc's GOOG GOOGL Google.
• Among fundamental changes is the rollout of live search results from Bing to ChatGPT.
• Microsoft also expanded its plug-ins for Bing, enabling seamless business transactions with consumers in its search engine.

Wall Street Journal

Is There Collusion in the Baby-Formula Industry?: FTC Scrutinizes State Contracts Bidding Process

• The Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) investigation concerns potential collusion among baby-formula manufacturers as it is interested in examining whether companies like Abbott Laboratories ABT and other formula manufacturers have engaged in collusion or coordination while bidding for state contracts.
• Furthermore, the agency is also exploring whether the coordination among these companies has had a broader impact on sales outside of the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) formula-supply program, as stated by FTC Commissioner Alvaro Bedoya. 

Struggling PacWest Offloads Real-Estate Lending Business To Roc360: Here's Why

• PacWest Bancorp PACW has reportedly sold its Civic Financial Services unit, which specializes in lending money to landlords and investors, to Roc360, a real-estate lending firm.
• Maksim Stavinsky, Roc360's co-founder and president, said the deal closed Tuesday, but the terms were not disclosed.
• Roc360 will take on the company's business operations—its data, intellectual property, brand, and workforce, but not Civic's previously extended loans or loan-servicing operations.

Choice Hotels Eyes Wyndham Hotels & Resorts

• Choice Hotels International Inc CHH is reportedly considering acquiring Wyndham Hotels & Resorts WH.
• The parties are yet to engage in serious talks over the matter, and it is also possible that the deal will not go through.
• If approved, the transaction is expected to create one of the biggest budget hotel owners in the U.S.
• Both companies are valued at under $6 billion each.

Image by Nana Dua from Pixabay